PETER OBI Faults SOLUDO's $123.7m Debt Claim in Anambra, Insist He Owed No Worker, Pensioner, Contractor
The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, PETER OBI, has challenged the Anambra State Government to come clean on the financial records of the past administration under his leadership.
PETER OBI denies claims by the Anambra State Government under the leadership of Governor CHUKWUMA SOLUDO that he left debts of over of One Hundred and Twenty-Three-Point-Seven Million Dollars when he left office in 2014.
OBI said even if the SOLUDO Administration was right in its claim, he also left over One-Hundred-and-Fifty Million-Dollars in investments for the Anambra State government, with the potential to generate additional Ten Million Dollars in annual revenue, which should cancel out such debts.
He maintained that as governor of Anambra State, he did not approach any financial institution to borrow funds or issue bond on behalf of the state, for which he said he was acknowledged and commended by the then Director-General of the DMO, ABRAHAM NWANKWO.
The NDC presidential candidate also affirmed that when he left office, the Anambra State Government did not owe unpaid salaries, gratuities, or pensions, adding that no contractor or supplier who were verified and certified to have completed their work was owed by his administration.
However, PETER OBI admitted that the Anambra State Government under his administration benefitted from eight concessionary development-support funds secured by the Federal Government for selected states.
He challenged the Anambra State Government to differentiate among the total amount approved for the multiyear development programmes, the amount drawn by the state during his tenure, and the funding balance outstanding when he left office on March 17, 2014.
He alleged that the Anambra State combined these distinct categories, added them together, and described the resulting US$123.77 million as “loans left by Peter Obi,” which he described as an incorrect application of public-sector accounting.
He noted that “the eight facilities identified were primarily World Bank and IFAD development programs negotiated by the Federal Government, with participating states receiving access to the funds through subsidiary arrangements. They were not conventional commercial loans that I personally secured during my tenure.
“This does not suggest that Anambra had no repayment responsibilities; rather, each facility must be examined in light of its approval, effectiveness, drawdown, and repayment record”, he explained.
PETER OBI challenged the “Anambra State Government to clarify how a state whose recorded external debt was about US$30 million in March 2014 and US$45.15 million in December 2014 could supposedly have inherited US$123.77 million from Peter Obi, who left office in March of that same year.”
He maintained that “On the day I left office, I left more than US$150 million as the dollar component of my investment in Anambra State as governor. I hereby provide documents that can be verified with the various banks. Had it remained untouched, this investment was expected to provide Anambra State with approximately US$10 million in annual income.”
“Even if their assertion were accurate—which it is not—that Anambra owed US$123 million, the government could have used the US$10 million generated annually from my savings to reduce the debt. It has now been 13 years since I left office, which would amount to US$130 million. The debt should have been fully settled by now.
“Had they retained the funds I left in the bank, including the compound interest on the principal and the additional income, the total would be approximately US$335 million today. If they had chosen to repay the US$92.35 million funding, the entire amount would have been covered, leaving approximately US$242 million to be reinvested. That sum would have generated about US$20 million annually for Anambra State.
In a detailed statement on his social media accounts, the first direct response to the onslaught against him by the SOLUDO Administration, PETER OBI said he had remained silent because he had been grieving the loss of his elder brother and friend, Chief OKEY EZEIBE.
OBI stressed the need for everyone to concentrate on the existential challenges confronting Nigeria and the hardship being endured by citizens, rather than on what he described as “needless distractions that have become widespread in our politics.”
He maintained that he had no disagreement with Governor SOLUDO, whom he described as his “dear elder brother”, or with any governor in Nigeria.
The NDC presidential candidate appealed to appeal to state governors to support whichever presidential candidate they choose, while also permitting and assisting other presidential candidates and contenders for other offices to campaign freely and without interruption in their states, and let the voters ultimately be allowed to determine whom they wish to serve them.